A postcard from a wine-producing German village

Name: Anne-Larina Lebenstedt, student of English and French at the University of Trier, Germany; exchange student at Beloit College.

Hometown: Kröv (a tiny wine-producing village in the western part of Germany).

How long will you be here? Two semesters.

What is your favorite place in Beloit? I really like Riverside Park and Horace White Park, which are both close to the college. They are nice places to relax and enjoy nature. I think the pavilion in Horace White Park is really beautiful.

What do you miss most from home? Apart from my family and friends, I really miss the German bread. It is simply different from the bread here. In case you should ever come to Germany, you really have to try it. Nothing is better than a freshly baked, crusty German bread in all its varieties.

What is the biggest difference between Beloit and your hometown? Similarity? The landscape is probably the most striking difference between Beloit and Kröv. Everything’s flat and broad here, whereas the village I come from is surrounded by mountains, and houses there are built one right next to the other. But both Beloit and Kröv (pictured below) are located in rural areas and their smallness makes them places where you feel safe and secure because nearly everyone knows each other (well, at least in Kröv and here on campus).

What has been your proudest/most exciting moment abroad? There’s no specific moment in time I could tell. What makes me very proud is rather the fact that I have realized that I’m starting to think in English and that I’ve already become more confident and independent since I’m here.

My most exciting time abroad definitely includes the trip with my international friends to Los Angeles and San Francisco—cities I had always dreamed of visiting one day.

Where is your favorite study spot on campus? My favorite study spot is on the first floor of the library. It is the row of sofas and desks behind the windows that face the President’s House. I like it because that’s the sunny side of the library and it is so nice to sit there in the afternoon and be warmed by the sun. That’s definitely the place where I feel most motivated to study.

What will you bring home from Beloit as a souvenir? Apart from many pictures, I will try to bring something typical of Beloit, the area around it or the U.S. in general back home. Maybe some Wisconsin cheese.

Want to hear a Beloiter's perspective of studying abroad in Germany? Stop by the German House (Wood Tower B) tonight at 7 p.m. for a BeAbroad discussion session led by Andi Altenbach'14, who studied abroad on the Beloit Exchange program in Erfurt, Germany last spring. All are welcome!